Heart Surgery Program

Our dedicated Bolivian partner surgeons provide lifesaving pacemaker and open heart surgeries for adults and children. Each patient also receives appropriate follow-up care overseen by our Bolivian offices. This program benefits greatly from the high-value materials donated by our corporate supporters, including top medical device companies such as Medtronic Corporation, Abbott, and Boston Scientific. The majority of children’s open heart surgeries are generously financed through the Goff Gift Fund.

While saving one life, each pacemaker we implant can heal and empower an entire family. Patients in 2017 included mothers and fathers with families who depend on them, and even children themselves. Meet some of the families who received this restorative care through our Pacemaker Program in 2017.

A healthy heartbeat is something that pacemaker patients like Patricia can never take for granted. Once patients receive an implant through Solidarity Bridge, we commit to their permanent, lifetime follow-up care.

“Helping a Heart to Beat,” a surgical campaign made possible by the coordinated effort of five distinct organizations, took place April 17-19 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. A true example of solidarity, the campaign served 12 children with congenital heart defects through a high-tech procedure using cardiac catheterization.

In 2016, US missioner Dr. Joseph Wu, an electrophysiologist from UCLA Medical Center, traveled to Santa Cruz to work alongside our Bolivian partners at San Juan de Dios Hospital. The trip helped to integrate St. Jude Medical, a new corporate donor, into our Pacemaker Program. Dr. Wu accompanied staff on home visits with patients and their families. Here are a few of their stories.